jones



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. & A. E. JONES.

ELECTRIC ARC LAMP. No. 299,397. Patented May 27, 1884.

' (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. 89 A. E. JONES.

ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

Patented May 27, 1884.

N. PETERS. Phota-lilhognphcr. Washingldn n c.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

B. 8a A. E. JONES.

'ELEGTRIG ARC LAMP.

Patented May 27 SEE/ 55 2 N. PETERS wmwumq u vm Washington, \zc.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.) 9

E. & A. E. JONES.

. ELECTRIC ARC LAMP, No. 299,397. Patented May 27, 1884.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

EDWVARD JONES AND ALBERT EDWARD JONES, OF CHURCH TERRACE, QUEENS ROAD, BATTERSEA, COUNTY OF SURREY, ENGLAND.

ELECTRIC-ARC LAM P..

@PECIEICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 299,397, dated May 27, 1884.

Application filed June- 18. 1883. (No model.) Patented in England March 6, 1883, No. 1,202; in France June 1, 1883, No. 155,798; in Germany June 23,}833, No. 26,448; in Belgium July 23, 1883, No. 62,105; in Italy August 10, 1883, No. 15,769, and in Spain November Ql, 1883, No. 3,573.

To aZZ whorl it 771/66 concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWARD JONES, mechanical engineer, and ALBERT EDWARD JONES, electrician, both of Church Terrace,

Queens Road, Battersea, in the county of Surrey, England, have invented certain Improvements in Electric-Arc Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in electricarc lamps in which the carbon-holders or electrodes are supported by cords and pulleys or by a tape or other flexible connection, so that their tendency to move toward each other is reciprocal and simultaneous; and the objects of the improvements are to provide means for automatically gripping and pulling the said flexible tape or cord, to strike the are for gradually relaxing the said tape or cord, to maintain the are as the carbons consume, for releasing the said tape or cord to allow it to slip and feed forward the carbons, and for shunting the current through a suitable resistance in the event of the lamp burning out or the carbons breaking. lVe attain these objects in the following manner: Ve employ a lever suitably supported on or from a fixed point, which lever is actuated automatically by a solenoid or electro-magnets arranged on the differential principle in the manner well known and commonly used, and we combine with the said lever an elastic or yielding bearing, which may conveniently take the form of a short lever suitably supported on the main lever or on the same fulcrum-pin as that on which the main lever rocks, and upheld against the pressure of the main lever by a spiral spring or its equivalent, the two levers being so arranged with respect to the tape or cord that when the main lever is actuated by the solenoid or the electro-magnets above referred to, the main lever will grip the tape or cord against the yielding hearing or spring-supported lever and hold it firmly. The further movement of the main lever will cause the tape or cord, and with it the yielding bearing, to be pulled up or down or along, as the case may be, to strike the are. As the carbons consume, the power of the solenoid or magnets will be neutralized, and the lever will be gradually released, allowing the tape or cord to rise or fall or move gradually while'still firmly gripped, and the carbons to feed steadily and gradually together. When the lever is released still more by the weakening of the solenoid or magnets, the yielding hearing will on counter a stop and be prevented from further movement, while the main lever will continue to drop or lift, and will release the tape or cord from its grip, allowing it to slide between its gripping end and the yielding bearing, and feed forward the carbons to maintain or re store the arc. Should the carbons break or burn out, the regulatinglever will fall altogeth er and make contact by suitably-insulated studs with a shunt-circuit, in which is interposed a suitable resistance, thuscompleting the operation and preventing the failure of the one lamp in a series from injuriously affecting the other lamps in that series or circuit.

The invention will be understood on reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a diagram view showing our improved feed-regulating mechanism in its simplest form, together with the electrical fittings and connections appertaining thereto for carrying out the objects above set forth. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional side elevation of a tape or cord lamp fitted with our improved regulating and shunting mechanism, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same. Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 show various arrangements for combining the gripping-lever with its yielding or elasticallysupported bearing; and Fig. 8 is a detail view 'of the lower extremity of the guide-tube for the positive carbon and of the spring which steadies the said carbon against the side of the aperture in the extremity of the said tube.

In all these figures the same letters of refenee indicate like or corresponding parts.

The principal of action of our improved regulating and shunting mechanism'will be more easily understood by referring in the first place to the diagram view, Fig. 1, in which A is the positive electrode or upper-carbon holder sliding within a tube, B, and making electrical contact therewith by means of the copper springs (l U. A guide, 1), prevents the electrode A from turning round within the tube B. E is a flexible cord or tape,serving,in conjunction with the pulleys F and G, to support the upper and lower electrodes, the upper electrode being suitably weighted to cause the two electrodes to approach each other. H is the lower electrode or carbon-holder suspended from or supported by the pulley G, and moving vertically in a suitable guide or guides. The pulley 1 is attached to the top frame of the lamp, and the cord or tape E, after passing over the pulley 1* and under the pulley G, is secured to a fixed point, I, or, it may be, is led around a small pulley and passed again around the pulleys G- and F, being finally at tached to the positive carbon-holder A. will be seen that by pulling the middle length or lengths of cord or tape downward in the direction of the arrow the upper carbon will be raised and the lower carbon lowered, and that on releasing the said cord or tape or allowing it to gradually slip the two electrodes will approach each other. XVhen the firstnamed movement is performed,the arc will be struck, and if the carbons be then allowed to approach each other gradually and steadily the arc will be maintained as the carbons are consumed. The arrangement for striking the arc and regulating the feed of the carbons is as follows: A solenoid, K, wound on the wellknown differential principle, acts on a core or armature of soft iron, L, pivoted or movably connected at M to one end of a lever, N. This lever is mounted to rock upon a fixed fulcrum, 02, carried by a bracket, 0, (not shown in the diagrann) and the short arm of the lever N is provided with a suitably-formed projection or extension of hardened steel, glass, or other suitable material, I, which forms, as it were, the gripping end or finger of the said lever. Pivoted on the same fulcrum, a, is a small lever or beal'ingpiece, Q, provided with a similar projecting piece of hardened steel, glass, or other suitable material, It, and this small lever or bearing-piece Q is held up by a spring, A stop, T, serves to prevent the small lever or yielding bearing Qbeing pulled by its spring beyond acertain point, so that when the lamp is out of action the cord will not be gripped between the parts P and It, thus allowing the cord to slip and the carbons to come freely together until they rest upon each other. The regulator-lever N is fitted with an insulated, stud, U, adapted to make contact with another stud, U", and shunt the current in the event of the carbons breaking, a suitable resistance, X, being interposed in this shunt-circuit to prevent interference with the other lamps in the circuit from an increased or unequal current.

The action of the several parts is as follows: WVhen the current passes, assuming the carbons to be touching. the main coil of the solenoid K will be powerfully excited, and will draw in the core L, which, in this arrangement, is attached to the long arm of the rocking lever N, thereby depressing the short arm and causing its finger or projection P to nip the band or cord E against the finger or projection It of the smaller lever or yielding bearing with an elastic grip, the intensity of which can be regulated by adj usting the tension of the spiral spring S. The further movement of the'leverN toward the solenoid will still further depress the short arm of the lever against the yielding bearing Q, and will give a downward pull to the band or cord E. raise one carbon and lower the other, thereby striking the are. As the arclengthens, the main solenoid current will diminish in intensity and that in the branch circuit will increase, the core will be gradually released, and the short arm ofthc lever will be lifted. The first effect of this gradual relaxation of pressure will be that the yielding hearing or spring-supported lever Q will rise and allow the band or cord to rise also and straighten itself out. and subsequently the pressure will be so slight that the band or cord will be free to slip over or between thesmooth surfaces on the main lever and the yielding bearing or smaller lever Q, respectively, and allow the two carbons to approach simultaneously and restore the arc to its normal size.

\Vc would here remark that the gripping surfaces which we prefer to use consist each of a short piece of glass tube secured to the lever and to the yielding bearing, respectively, by pins passing through their centers; but these grippingsurfaces may consist. also, of cylindrical pieces of polished steel or of ivory or other dense material, and they may be fitted to rotate after the manner of rollers.

The insulated stud U on the lever N is preferably formed of a piece of carbon, and is connected by a wire or other conductor with the positive pole of the lamp. 'When the lever N falls to its lowest position, owing to the differential solenoid being weakened, its insiv lated contact-piece or stud of carbon U makes contact with a similar contact-point or stud, U, and allows the current to pass from the positive pole of the lamp through a suitable resistance, X, to the negative pole of the lamp. By this arrangement the sudden extinction of one lamp in a circuit will not interfere with or extinguish or destroy the other lamps in that circuit.

Referring now to the drawings of the complete lamp, Figs. 2 and 3, the action of the feed-regulator lever. will be readily understood from the preceding description; but a few words of explanation of the parts not shown in the diagram and of some modifications of construction will be desirable. The tube B, within which the positive electrode A. moves, constitutes the central foundation or backbone of the lamp, and greatly simplifies the construction. The positive carbon is held firmly inthe holder A by the jaws a a, which form a spi'ing'socket, tapering inward. The

The effect of this will be to slightly flexible cord or tape E may be of silk or any other suitable material, and with the view of equalizing the strain-on each end of the cord, its upper end, instead of being attached to a ring or binding-screw fixed to the top plate, Y, is preferably led around a small pulley, I, suspended underneath the top plate, and returned under and over the pulleys G and F,

and made fast to the positive electrode A. By arranging the pulleys as described, the weight of the carbon-holder A pulls up the negative carbon-holder H at one-half the speed at which it itself travels, thus approximately equalizing the effect of the different rates of consumption of the two carbons when burning.

Two solenoids, K, each on the differential principle, and two solenoid-cores, L, are em ployed in this lamp. The two cores L are connected together, so as to form an armature, which is connected or pivoted to thelong end of the lever N by means of a jointsuch as h adapted to move with very little friction. The drawings show the long arm of the lever turned up and bent over to rest upon a knifeedge or pointed pin carried by and midway of the armature or core-connector L of the double solenoid K K; but any other suitable connection can be used to connect the lever with the armature. The spiral spring L allows of the pull exerted by the solenoids K K to be accurately adjusted to the current. It will be seen that the lever L is bent or curved to pass round the upper electrode guide-tube, B, and that its fulcrum-pin n is carried bya bracket, 0, clasped around the said tube B. The elastically-supported oryielding bearing Q is pivoted on the same fulcrum-pin, n, and is conveniently formed with a tail-piece or extension, Q, (seen best in Fig. 3,) through which a set-screw or stop, T, passes, and by adjust ing this screw-stop Tthe extent of the upward movement of the link Q by the spiral spring S can be accurately determined. This is an important point, as it prevents the grippingfingers P and R from continuing to hold the cord or tape when the regulating-lever drops to a certain position, or when the lamp is not in action, and allows the carbons to come freely together and rest the one upon the other.

Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 show various arrangements of levers N and elastically supported or yielding bearings Q, for gripping the cord or tape E, and embodying the same principle of action as is above described. In Fig. 4. the projection or finger P on the lever L is arranged to act 011 the outside of the cord E, and the finger R on the yielding bearing Q to act on the inner side or surface of the cord. In Fig. 5 the yielding bearing Q has two gripping-fingers, R It, upon it, and the grippingfinger P of the lever N is arranged to press the cord or tape E against and between the two fingers R B. In this case the thrust of the gripping-fingers is very nearly at right angles to the tape or cord E. In Fig. 6 another modification is shown, the gripping'fingers P and B being arranged to give first an upward pressure to nip the cord, and then an inward and downward pull around the fulcrum-pin n as a center. Fig. 7 is the same arrangement as is shown and described with reference to Fig. 1, the finger or projection P taking a beak-like instead of a cylindrical form. In all these arrangements the same principle of action obtains, although the way of connecting the lever N with its yielding bearing Q necessarily varies slightly in some of these arrangements. In all cases the first upward movement of the lever N causes the cord or tape to be gripped between the fingers or projections P R, and the further upward movement of the lever N causes the tape to be forcibly drawn or pulled against the pressure of the adjustable spring S. Similarly, on gradually allowing the lever N to descend, the grip on the cord or tape E will be first relaxed and the cord will move slowly endwise and gradually straighten itself out, and next the pressure between the surfaces P and R will become so slight that the cord or tape will be able to slip between the smooth surfaces P and B, thereby allowing the carbons to approach and restoring the arc to its normal length.

It is obvious that the lever N and its elastic or yielding bearing Q may be arranged to grip and put a pull upon a cord or other flexible connection for the electrodes in a horizontal as well as in a vertical direction, and produce effects similar to those above described.

Fig. 8 shows in detail the hole through which the positive carbon passes from its guide-tube B and the spring which steadies it against the side of the said hole.

' Referring now to the arrangement for maintaining the circuit, should the arc become abnormally long I or the carbons break or burn out, which would destroy the arc, at the bottom of the lever Nis fitted, as described above, the piece of carbon U, suitably insulated from the lever N and electrically connected by a branch wire with the positive pole of the lamp.

V represents the insulating material in all the figures.

Insulated from the tube B is a bracket, WV, which carries a similar contact-piece, U,these contact-pieces U U always resting on each other when the armature of the solenoid K is not raised. The bracket \V is connected bya suitable resistance, X, Fig. 3, to a similar bracket,\V, at the lower part of and insulated from the tube B, the bracket WV being connected to the negative pole of the lamp. If the carbons should be broken or burned out, the armature at once descends and brings the contact-pieces U U (carried by the lever N and bracket W) together, thus establishing a shuntcircuit which includes the resistance X, and is clearly shown with the other connections in the diagram View, Fig. 1.

We would remark that it is not necessary that solenoids of the form shown should be member of said gripping device and a yielding abutment forming the other member of said device, an electro-magnet or solenoid for actuating said lever, and cut-out studs controlled by said lever, whereby the electric current will be shunted around the lamp in case of the carbons breaking, substantially 218110113 in described.

2. The variablepressure gripping device above described, consisting of a lever, N, actuated by a solenoid or electro-maguet, yielding abutment Q, gripping surfaces or projections P It, adjustable spring S, attached at one end to a fixed point outside the lever N, and stop T, for the purpose set forth.

3. The, combination,with the grippinglever" N, actuated by asolenoid or an electro-magnet, as described, of the yielding bearing or abutment Q, pivoted at one end and supported by means of a spring, S, attached to a part of the lamp which remains unaffected by the move ments of the lever N, as and for the purpose set forth.

at. In an electric lamp, the eombinatioirwit-h the lever N, cord or tape E, core L, and differ ential solenoid K, of a hinged or pivoted link or arm, Q, upheld by a spring or an elastic support in such a manner as to coact with the lever N and grip the cord or tape when the said lever is actuated byavarying tension due to the expansion or contraction of the said spring or elastic support, as set forth.

5. The co1nbination,\vith the central guidetube, 13, forming a backbone for an arcdamp, and a cord or tape, E, serving to support the electrodes, of the automatic regulating-lever N, mounted upon the said tube B, pivoted abutment or bearing Q, upheld by an elastic support, S, attached to or supported by a nonmovable part of the lamp, gripping projections or surfaces and It, and means for limiting the movement of the abutment or bearing in one direction, all as and for the purpose set forth.

EDYVARD JONES. ALBERT EDXVARD JONES. \Vitnesses:

H. K. WHITE, J. Honens,

Both 0f66 Chancery Lane, London. 

